MotoGP race at Motegi just 2 weeks after IndyCar raceDanica Patrick says IndyCar should not race at Motegi for radiation fears and that MotoGP had postponed their race from April to October because of those fears. 2 weeks after the IndyCar race MotoGP will be in town. Yamaha Factory Racing confirmed today the attendance of its riders Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies to compete for round 15 of the 2011 MotoGP World Championship at Motegi in Japan on 2nd October. The Yamaha Factory Racing team will race in Yamaha's WGP50th Anniversary red and white livery for the 4th time this year at the home GP of team owner Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

Ford today unveiled a bold new 2012-specification Formula Ford car to visitors at the Frankfurt Motor Show. It's the formula that has been an essential step in the professional racing driver's career for more than 40 years and this all-new car for next season will have talented young drivers around the world eager to get behind the wheel to prove their mettle.

The new-generation Formula Ford cars will use a production-based 1.6-litre Ford EcoBoost direct injection, turbocharged engine, limited to producing around 165PS and 220Nm, and mated to a 6-speed sequential transmission with mechanical shift mechanism. The 2012 specification car represents another advance in technology and performance for the formula.

Wrapping up one of the most competitive seasons in years, the 2011 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear heads to the season finale with the American Le Mans Series at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend… and three of the four series titles – Series Champion, Expert Series Champion and Team Championship – still up for grabs.

Continuing a battle they began last year, championship leader Tristan Vautier and Connor De Phillippi are the only two drivers still in the hunt for the overall series championship and the 2012 Indy Lights ride that comes with it, a much-coveted prize funded by a scholarship from the Mazda Road to Indy driver development program. Vautier, from Grenoble, France, leads the battle 392 points vs. 354 for Connor De Phillippi of San Clemente, CA. With 46 points available (44 for first, 1 for pole and 1 for fastest race lap), De Phillippi will need not only to drive the race of his life, but will need to have some serious bad luck befall his adversary… but anyone who has been in racing long enough knows that the oddest things happen in the last race with the championship on the line.

Andretti Autosport Wins Second USF2000 Team TitleAndretti Autosport secured the team championship title for the second consecutive year at the conclusion of the 2011 Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda season on Sept. 4 in Baltimore.

Drivers Spencer Pigot and Zach Veach recorded a total of four wins, seven poles and 13 podium finishes to capture the team USF2000 title with a lead of more than 50 points in the standings. Veach's chief mechanic, Ron Weaver, received the series' 2011 "Mechanic of the Year" award.

Dan Wheldon eligible for IndyCar's $5 million bonusIndianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon will have a $5 million bonus opportunity at next month's Izod IndyCar Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Many of the details are still to be worked out and unveiled -- a news conference is scheduled Tuesday --but if Wheldon wins the Izod World Championships on Oct. 16, he'll garner $2.5 million for his team and $2.5 million for a fan.

IndyCar went with the Wheldon option because no driver outside open-wheel racing stepped forward to participate. IndyCar wanted a competitor who could attract attention, and Wheldon, who has not competed in an IndyCar race since May, offers the best chance for that.

Wheldon, the 2005 series champion, is a two-time 500 winner. He has won 16 IndyCar races. IndyStar

Belardi Auto Racing to test sprint car racer WilsonSprint car driver Jacob Wilson will join Belardi Auto Racing for a one day test at Kentucky Speedway later this month.

Wilson, a native of Crawfordsville, Ind., races in the USAC Silver Crown, National Pavement Sprint Car and Must See Racing Xtreme Sprint series. The 21 year-old will take his first run in a Firestone Indy Lights machine with Belardi Auto Racing at a test on Sept. 22 in Sparta, KY.

"We're very excited to have the opportunity to bring Jacob on board for the test at Kentucky," team owner Brian Belardi said. "Although he's never been in a Lights car, the talent he's showcased on dirt tracks and in sprint cars shows us how successful he could be in the Mazda Road to Indy. We would love to bring more of the sprint car and midget drivers to the program, because I think it's important to integrate those different types of talent into the development program we have feeding into the IZOD IndyCar Series."

It's Round 15 of the IZOD IndyCar Series, the 10th road/street event of the season and - not to add any pressure - the race that will decide the winner of the second Mario Andretti Road Trophy.

The competition for the award that recognizes the top point producer on the roads/streets is about as tight as the overall championship, with Will Power and Dario Franchitti dueling for both honors.

Power takes a 14-point lead to the series' first venture on the 2.983-mile Twin Ring Motegi road course, which is being utilized because of damage sustained by the 1.5-mile oval racetrack in the March earthquake. The Verizon Team Penske driver earned the inaugural Andretti award.

Its companion award, the A.J. Foyt Oval Trophy, will be presented following the Kentucky Indy 300 on Oct. 2, and that chase also is neck and neck between Target Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Dixon and Franchitti.

IZOD IndyCar Series driver Takuma Sato participated in a Q&A session to preview this weekend's Indy Japan: The Final at Twin Ring Motegi. Below are select quotes from his interview.

TAKUMA SATO: Former Formula 1 driver Takuma Sato returns to race in his home country this weekend in the Indy Japan: The Final at Twin Ring Motegi for KV Racing Technology - Lotus. Sato raced on home soil for the first time in three years when he raced at the track last year. He hopes to bring more success to his fans this weekend as the series transitions from the 1.5-mile oval to the 2.983-mile road course.

Q. Last year, there were huge crowds of fans cheering you on at Twin Ring Motegi. What's it like to race in your home country again?

Formula Nippon champ de Oliveira to race at MotegiConquest Racing announced today that Brazilian Joao Paulo (JP) de Oliveira has joined the team as the driver of the #34 Ceremony car at the Final Indy Japan 300, which will take place September 17th at the Twin Ring Motegi road course in Motegi, Japan.

Texas Attorney sues Austin F1 promoterA Texas attorney has sued Tavo Hellmund, the promoter of the upcoming U.S. Grand Prix near Austin, Texas, but the action should have no bearing on the race that is scheduled to join the Formula One calendar in November 2012.

Randolph Ewing claims that Hellmund engaged him to provide legal and business advice, and that Hellmund owes him 5 percent of the promoter's stake in the U.S. GP as payment for more than 150 hours of work.

Dreyer & Reinbold Racing announced today that Hawaiian-based company, Kona Deep, and Italian driver, Giorgio Pantano will return to the team in Japan. Pantano will replace the injured Justin Wilson this weekend and will drive the team's No. 22 Kona Deep entry for The Final Indy Japan.

The Hawaiian-based company joined forces as a sponsor partner with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing last year and came back on board this season. Kona Deep has served as a team associate for the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series and will serve as the primary sponsor on the No. 22 machine at The Final Indy Japan this week. As for Pantano, he competed with DRR for the Sonoma and Baltimore races and will be back for the final road course event.

Former GP2, DTM and Le Mans driver Christian Bakkerud died on Sunday following a London car accident on Saturday night.

26 years of age, Bakkerud succumbed to brain damage following the accident in Wimbledon. The cause of the incident remains unknown.

After racing in Formula BMW between 2002 and 2004, the Dane - a UK resident - moved to British Formula 3 for the following two seasons.

In 2007 he partnered Andy Soucek at David Price Racing for GP2, although the campaign proved to be disappointing. Another season in 2008, this time with Super Nova, was also unfruitful and he eventually withdrew from the series as a recurring back injury continued to cause discomfort.

In 2009 Bakkerud joined Audi for DTM before taking part in the 2009 and 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours for the Kolles Audi squad, sharing a car with Christijan Albers plus Giorgio Mondini (2009) and Oliver Jarvis (2010). He had not raced in any category so far this year.

New programming drives brand for NBC SportsWhen Jon Miller, the president of programming of NBC Sports and Versus, took over his new post, he had a clear vision of the direction the network was headed. It already had a new long-term deal in place with the NHL and added a new package of MLS broadcasts and is working closely with the NBC Sports Group on a number of projects that will improve the Versus brand. Versus will change its name to NBC Sports Network on Jan. 2.

Jim Williams spoke with Miller, who is a D.C. native and graduate of Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda.

Teammate Jenson Button (third in line above) had no problem passing both Hamilton and Schumacher

McLaren accused Michael Schumacher of using tough tactics to prevent Lewis Hamilton getting past for much of Sunday's Italian Grand Prix, [even though Jenson Button, who may be the better McLaren driver, had no problem getting past].

Hamilton, embroiled in countless controversies already this Formula One season, refused to be drawn into a slanging match after complaining about his Mercedes rival over the radio during the race.

"He had a fair amount of provocation and frustration in that race and I think someone drove him off the circuit pretty aggressively at one stage," McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh told reporters.

Video: Vettel's pass on Alonso at Monza was magicalSebastian Vettel is being called the second coming of Ayrton Senna and with his win at Monza in the wet in the inferior Toro Rosso and moves like this at Monza Sunday there is little doubt!

Alonso get the lead in Turn 1 as Liuzzi comes sliding through the grass took out four cars

Ferrari

HRT driver Vitantonio Liuzzi has received a five place grid penalty at the Singapore Grand Prix for causing the accident at the start of today's Italian GP.

The Italian driver lost control of his spinning car, slid down the grass on the inside of the first corner and went backwards into the first chicane, taking out and damaging a number of cars, including Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov.

After the race the stewards decided to give him a five place grid penalty for the next race at Singapore. Considering that the HRT's started on the last row of the grid this weekend, the penalty will probably not make any difference to the Italian's upcoming race.

Lewis Hamilton has admitted that he failed to capitalize on the Lap 4 restart at Monza, having dropped to fourth place from second on the grid. Then passed by team-mate Jenson Button, the 2008 World Champion finally overhauled Michael Schumacher before catching but failing to pass Fernando Alonso for the final podium position.

“It was a good race: I finished and I got some points, so I can’t really complain,” said the Englishman, who hadn’t seen the checkered flag in Italy since his title-winning season.

ESPN’s NASCAR Now to be Live from Chicago’s Navy PierWith the Chicago skyline as a backdrop, NASCAR Now, ESPN2’s daily NASCAR news and information program, will air live from Chicago’s Navy Pier for three shows in advance of the start of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup at nearby Chicagoland Speedway.

NASCAR Now will originate from the Navy Pier for a half-hour show at 3 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Sept. 13, and one-hour shows on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 14-15, at 2:30 p.m. The 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup begins with the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., on Sunday, Sept. 18, airing live on ESPN at 1 p.m.

“Range anxiety” for pure battery-powered electric car owners wears off quickly as a driver begins to understand the capabilities and charging patterns of their car, according to a new study by the Technology Strategy Board.

Around 35 percent of electric car owners were concerned about reaching a destination before running out of juice three months after buying a car, compared to 100 percent of car owners when they first bought the electric car, according to the report. More car owners drove the cars until the battery fell below 50 percent charge. But the report also showed that electric car owners still desire longer ranges.

Pagenaud and Bourdais win at SilverstoneAfter a thrilling race in front of around 40,000 spectators Bourdais/Pagenaud won the Autosport 6 Hours of Silverstone for Peugeot. Ferrari scored another victory in LM GTE (Fisischella-Bruni) class, the third by the Prancing Horse this year. Thanks to these wins, Peugeot and Ferrari have consolidated their lead in the ILMC Manufacturers’ Championships.

The merciless duel raging between Peugeot and Audi since the beginning of the season continued at Silverstone. Right from the start of the fifth round of the ILMC, Allan McNish set the tone with his incessant attacks on the pole-sitting Peugeot of Bourdais/Pagenaud. It was a scintillating start to the race and the Scot found the opening after a 50-minute scrap, shortly before Franck Montagny in the second 908 went off after tagging a backmarker during an overtaking maneuver.

Christian Vietoris has held on against race long pressure from Fabio Leimer to claim his second victory of the season this morning in the sprint race at Monza: the German led his Swiss rival and Jules Bianchi from lights to flag in the final race of the 2011 GP2 season.

The win was set up at the start: when the lights went out poleman Bianchi and his fellow front row starter Leimer struggled to get away with Vietoris slipping between the pair. He was gone before the pack got to the first chicane, with Adam Carroll trying to get around them on the right side of the track before running out of road and having to make do with fourth.

Antonio Felix Da Costa took his first victory this season in what was a dramatic final race of the 2011 GP3 Series™. The Portuguese driver finished ahead of championship runner-up James Calado, but the Lotus ART driver was handed a 20-second penalty for failing to take a drive-through penalty after causing a collision with Mitch Evans. Marussia Manor Racing’s Rio Haryanto was promoted to second and Nico Müller took the final podium spot.

Felix Da Costa took an early lead when the lights went out until poleman Evans fought back a lap later. Carlin’s Conor Daly held onto his third place at the start but the American was hit up the back into Ascari on the opening lap by champion Valtteri Bottas. Daly was out the race and the Finn was given a drive-through penalty. At the front Calado had put moves on both Felix Da Costa and Evans to take the lead.

Andretti, Milliken selected Legends of the GlenBill Milliken and Mario Andretti have been selected as Legends of the Glen by Watkins Glen International.

The 100-year-old Milliken says he's "just blown away by the award."

Milliken was among the first drivers to race at The Glen and was instrumental in the planning and designing of both the temporary and permanent tracks.

Andretti won the 1972 Six Hours endurance race at The Glen and claimed the pole for U.S. Grand Prix in 1968, 1977 and 1978 and won the 1974 F5000 race in the Viceroy Lola. His popularity helped bring a record-setting crowd to Watkins Glen in 1968 and in 1978 when he won the F1 World Title.

Andretti is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula 1, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR. He is a four-time IndyCar National and Formula 1 World Champion.

Danica waiting on 2012 Schedules to be released for Cup races to be decided

Eury Jr. and NASCAR's biggest star Danica Patrick at Richmond

Getty Images for NASCAR

Danica Patrick, who is moving to NASCAR's Nationwide Series full time in 2012, said Friday her limited Sprint Cup schedule wouldn't be determined until NASCAR released next year's schedule in its entirety. "Go Daddy's input is important (in determining the schedule) and they'll play a part, but they're also respectful enough to understand that I'm the driver and the team owners are drivers, too, and they're not NASCAR professionals necessarily" Patrick said about her sponsor.

"Taking the advice of those around me who have been in the sport for a long time, they realize that's the smart thing to do, too, and they don't stand in the way." When Patrick discussed her limited Cup schedule with team owner Tony Stewart, he suggested going to the tougher tracks, such as Darlington, Dover or Bristol, so she could start learning them. "That means I'm really going to look like crap out there," Patrick said with a laugh. Patrick expects her schedule to come together rather quickly once NASCAR has released the 2012 Sprint Cup dates. RacinToday

Valtteri Bottas took his fourth victory of the season in a thrilling Race 1 in Monza today to secure the 2011 GP3 Series crown after a head to head battle with his Lotus ART teammate and championship rival James Calado. Bottas kept his cool and put his head down to take the win despite immense pressure from the Brit who finished second to secure his runner-up spot in the drivers’ standings.

Poleman Adrian Quaife-Hobbs had a good start to hold onto the lead of the race from Nico Müller, but it was Bottas who flew off the line when the lights went out. The Finn made up two places to take third before the first corner ahead of Rio Haryanto and Mitch Evans with Calado holding his ground in sixth.

There was then a furious race-long battle for the podium spots from the leading drivers. With Müller pushing Quaife-Hobbs hard for the lead, Haryanto was first to make a move passing Bottas for third and leaving the Finn in the clutches of his teammate Calado. But a few laps in the Marussia Manor Racing squad received a double blow with Müller snatching the lead from Quaife-Hobbs and Bottas taking back the final podium spot from Haryanto. The top three were then side-by-side with the British driver loosing another spot to the Finn.

Luca Filippi brought delight to the hearts of his countrymen with a lights to flag victory in this afternoon's feature race at his home circuit of Monza: the Italian blew past poleman Charles Pic to lead home the Frenchman and his compatriot Romain Grosjean by over five seconds.

Filippi made good on his pre-race promises and tore away from the line when the lights went out: Pic couldn't take advantage of the clean side of the track and had to fend off Alvaro Parente, Grosjean, Adam Carroll and Fabio Leimer as they made their way to the first chicane.

Pagenaud/Bourdais put Peugeot on pole at SilverstoneSimon Pagenaud, who is teamed with fellow IndyCar Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, put their Peugeot on pole position for the AUTOSPORT 6 Hours of Silverstone in tricky qualifying conditions.

Spots of rain threatened at the start of the session, that saw Pagenaud and Sarrazin trade fast times in the #7 and #8 Peugeots, before Pagenaud laid down a 1m43.943s effort.

Domenicali has Montezemolo's 'full confidence'(GMM) Luca di Montezemolo on Saturday said Ferrari will not be ousting its team boss.

After a bungled race strategy cost Fernando Alonso the title last year, head engineer Chris Dyer was ousted. The same fate befell technical boss Aldo Costa earlier this season when the 150 Italia car was struggling for pace.

With the car just fourth and sixth on the grid for Ferrari's crucial home race at Monza, then, might team principal Stefano Domenicali be the next to fall?

"When Jean Todt left us, an era came to an end," Ferrari president Montezemolo, making his traditional visit to the Monza paddock on Saturday, said.

Woman killed cleaning BMWYesterday BMW is under intense pressure in Belgium. A 61 years old woman, who was cleaning a 6-series convertible was killed, some say even beheaded, when the roof of the convertible suddenly closed. Not the publicity you want. Police are investigating this case now.

Danica Patrick likens NASCAR to driving a vanQ: You've been racing IndyCars, which are close to state-of-the-art vehicles, and now you'll be driving much heavier, less sophisticated NASCAR Chevrolets. Can you describe the difference between driving the two?

Danica: It's the difference between driving a sports car and driving a van. That's how amazing an IndyCar is. Sports cars and vans all drive on the same roads, but an IndyCar and a NASCAR stock car could never compete against each other. IndyCars have wings that generate more downforce than the car weighs, so they do really, really amazing things. Chicago Tribune

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs took his second GP3 Series™ pole position for Marussia Manor Racing in the final seconds of qualifying at Autodromo Nazionale Monza today. The British driver finished 0.062 seconds ahead of Nico Müller who was on course to take his maiden pole position of the season for Jenzer Motorsport.

When the lights went green all thirty cars fed out the track on slick tires for the early morning session. Rio Haryanto was the early pace setter for Marussia Manor Racing, and except for a brief spell at the top for Series leader Valtteri Bottas it was the Indonesian who led the way for the first half of the session. Title contender Alexander Sims was the first to better Haryanto’s time going 0.050 seconds quicker than the Manor driver, but was soon bumped down the order by Bottas and Haryanto who moved back on top.

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